Wild Oats Natural Marketplace

Now Whole Foods, it was a weird literally overnight change, but from what I can tell, it still seems the same.
I haven’t done entirely too much shopping here, but the selection and the variety of things are pretty okay to me.
I’m more so happy with their selection of sushi and fresh miso soup. My boyfriend and I were able to buy 4 separate rolls and have our own sushi fest at home… all the while watching The Office.
Doesn’t get any better than that.

I’ve avoided coming here for a long time, as I just couldn’t accept that a corporate supermarket-​version of a health food store could replace my sentimental favorite, the now defunct local small business Papa Jon’s. Well, that was stupid of me, I guess, since I’ve been missing out.
Walking in the door, it had that familiar health food store aroma that immediately won me over. It has everything I’ve been missing since Papa Jon’s closed, including all the familiar brands of natural and organic foodstuffs, organic fruits and vegetables, bulk grains (so if I only need a cup of flour I only need to buy a cup of flour rather than a package), bulk herbs (including a wide variety of medicinal herbs, so I don’t need to go to the scary witchcraft store for when I need to make my custom herbal teas), a fresh juice bar, and a deli. In addition to being bigger, it also has a lot of things Papa Jon’s never had, including a meat counter with grass-​fed beef, several cuts of bison, and a great fish selection including wild salmon, a gourmet cheese selection that puts Bristol Farms to shame in some ways, and a section for organic beer and wine. I didn’t take a good look at the vitamin and supplement section, but I did make a beeline for one particular supplement I hadn’t been able to find in several years, so that speaks well to the selection. Naturally they have the full line of Amy’s Organic Kitchen frozen dinners (as well as many other brands of natural and organic frozen foods), so I finally got my Amy’s Mac ‘n Soy Cheez fix, allowing me to enjoy mac&chee without triggering my lactose intolerance. I didn’t buy too much, but the prices seemed comparable to what I used to pay for these products before. I just wish they had a full café/​restaurant. Other than that I really can’t complain; I’ll be sure to mix this into my grocery routine for the items I can’t find elsewhere.
I also appreciate that Wild Oats has contributed to the local community, including sponsoring the Community Garden on the portion of the Long Beach Greenbelt between 10^th & Grand and 11^th & Loma.

Know what a cornucopia is? This place is a cornucopia of food.
Long Beach shoppers have such a great choice of quality in what they eat. We have WIld Oats, Trader Joe’s and Bristol Farms all catering to demanding and diners and drinkers. Being the ever optimist, I like to believe that Americans, particularly Californians, are slimming down from what most of the world sees us as. You know, fat, over-​indulgent, fast-​food pigs. You know who I’m talking about. WIld Oats offers up a barnyard-​full of fresh, healthy product, from grains and fruits, seafood, red meats and prepared take-​out to sushi. It’s enough to mess up your plans and you might find yourself saying «Jeez, I know he wanted pork roast but that wild salmon looks so good!» or «I know he loves sourdough but that wheat baguette was just baked!»
It’s hard to decide what you’ll choose walking the aisles without a plan. I’m a good planner but will stray when an aroma catches my nose or a well-​marbled slab of beef catches my eye. Be prepared for the price though as they aren’t the cheapest in town. «You are what you eat» is a good enough guide, that or what you can afford.
My decision on whether I’m going to TJs or BFs or WOs all comes down to the 3 L’s (location, location, location). And while that may be a real estate axiom, with gas upwards of $ 3/​gl, it applies to food shopping, as well. So if I’m driving by a Wild Oats, that’s a good enough reason to drop in.
4-​Stars vs 5 for price. They have the quality and quantity down fine… now I want to eat cake, without it costing me my head.

Yes, Wild Oats is expensive. That’s why they only get four stars. I usually alternate my shopping trips between WO and Trader Joe’s because I just can’t afford to shop there exclusively. But besides the bend-​me-​over pricing, there are plenty of wonderful reasons to shop at Wild Oats.
For one, they have a great household product isle. Recycled paper products, recycled aluminum foil, recycled garbage bags, and lots of eco-​friendly cleaning products. I dare you to try to find recycled kleenex at Target.
I also really like their health & beauty section. Trader Joe’s doesn’t carry many Tom’s of Maine products, so I have to come here to buy my toothpaste and deodorant. And I usually end up getting distracted by all of the other organic, cruelty-​free, earth-​friendly soaps and lotions and yummy-​smelling things.
Another thing that I like is that they specify which fruits and vegetables are locally grown (although their definition of local seems to span the entire state of CA). Because it’s not just about organic.
They also have a pretty big selection of vegetarian frozen lunches, definitely more than you can find at Trader Joe’s and Albertson’s combined.
But yeah. The price thing just makes me want to cry every time. *tear*

The 4 stars are for the cajun peel and eat shrimp i got from the deli department today! normally i dont do much shopping here because i feel like the prices are too high and they dont have as big of a selection of foods as whole foods but i was in the area at the farmer’s market and decided to pick up some lunch…
The shrimp are 14.99 a pound which is kind of pricey for the size of the shrimp but i had a sample and they were so good!
I also go some metro mint water. the last time i was there i got some and now everytime i see it i have to have it!!!
They have decent sushi (in my opinion) they actually use realy crab meat for the california roll and they use brown rice which makes it a healthy meal!!! The salad selection is massive but i didnt like the organic blend well not with liquid aminos on it because it tasted like salty grass.
the customer service is so nice its scary especially when your used to bonquisha and jerome rolling thier eyes at you if you ask them for help. my friend just said hire and some one appeared with an application! creepy huh?

Wild Oats is a good place to shop if you’re tryin’ to eat healthy. The bad news is that your wallet is going to suffer. Their prices are really high on many items. There are lots of items that are 30% — 40% higher than Trader Joe’s for the same exact brand item. But, they do have a better selection than TJ’s and therefore they are worth some stops here and there.
If you are looking for produce, go across the street to the Farmers Market on Sundays. It is awesome and the prices are better for much, much fresher and local produce.
I do love Wild Oats bulk food aisle & bakery. Their deli has a good selection, but it always seems like the service sucks. It might just be the time of day I go, but they seem more interested in prepping food than in helping the people standing there. Good selection of vitamins and supplements, and the people working in that dept seem to know what they are talking about.

I’m not into younger dudes, but the butcher/​fish dude who looked like a hunky HS quarterback type tastefully hit on me when I bought some halibut so I’m cool with Wild Oats.
Practically…
Yes, of course, something is going to be more expensive if the social, health or environmental costs are factored into a product like they are at WO. But if you’re coming here for anything other than the good beer or if you’re trying to pick up world-​conscious, young, upwardly-​mobiles, then you probably already know this much.
A lower rating of WO based on high prices isn’t logical if you’re comparing to a conventional grocer or to Trader Joe’s (both very different sets of product). If however you’re comparing between like-​stores such as Wild Oats vs. Whole Foods, then the down-​rating would makes sense (also, e.g. Ralphs vs. Albertsons).
– Wonderful produce selection
– The bin aisle is haBINin’. If you’re about to make your curried quinoa or you’ve got your corn tortillas and ground turkey all ready to add your vegetarian chili mix and realize that you’re not a vegetarian anymore… and that you didn’t write down the water-​to-​foodstuff ratio, you just call back and they happily transfer you to the bulk department to look it up for you.
– The best selection of hormone-​free and conscience-​assuaging meats around.
– Since BevMo LLC is really dumb in taking their sweet-​ass time in setting up in the LBC, it’s easier to get my better brews from here.
– The cashiers only rarely hold their breath and handle your meat selection with the tips of their forefinger and thumb.
– Really awesome soup aisle
– The Odwalla is pretty much always on sale
– Lines are fast, great displays, super clean, doesn’t smell like incense or vitamins
Wild Oats was recently purchased by Whole Foods and from a brief chat w/​a manager it sounds like they have no idea what that will mean for this particular location or in general, but hopefully they don’t fire the fish/​butcher dude.

My first time in Wild Oats was 2 weeks ago and I spent way too much money there. If you are into organic or vegetarian items, come here. The items do look fresh but everything is 1.5−2 times more expensive than Trader Joe’s. They do carry some different brands than TJ’s. They did carry Mighty Leaf Tea, however, they didn’t have the Green Tea Tropical I was looking for. Even though, they didn’t have what I was looking for, I did end up spending $ 100 on three bags of groceries. Three bags! I can’t afford to go to Wild Oats anymore.
A perk that TJ’s doesn’t have is the fresh salad bar and food stations. The packaged sushi is definitely worth it for a quick bite. I tried the spicy combo with halibut, salmon, tuna and shrimp and the fish was fresh due to the sushi maker being there all day long. The Italian stand next to it looked appetizing too, it was really hard to say no to the pepperoni pizza.

Wild Oats’ bulk dry soups have gotten me through dozens of at-​school dinners: for like $ 5, you have enough dehydrated corn chowder or black bean soup to last you about 8 dinners, and all you need is water and a microwave for a tasty and healthy meal. However, this is a product the store carries, and not the whole store, and dry soups are pretty much all I can buy without feeling guilty.
I feel a little uncomfortable rating the store. Part of me wants to extol its glory, like today I found VEGAN gouda cheese (crazy!) and the variety of lactose-​free/​vegan cheeses in general excites me, but it’s all so EXPENSIVE. Vegetarians and vegans can delight in the wide selection of meat-​free products and mixes and whatnot; there are a lot of products I’ve never seen anywhere else, or have had difficulty finding elsewhere, like soy chorizo. I also love how large the body products/​herbal supplements/​vitamins section is, but once again, as much as the proletariat may want aluminum-​free organic animal-​safe deodorant, good ol’ Ban is still $ 2.50 at Target. Wild Oats isn’t a place to go for your regular grocery shopping unless you’re bringing in a reasonable amount of money. Or you’ve got a sugar daddy. Organic unprocessed cane sugar daddy…

This is where the healthy people shop.
Luckily, I got past the door because I had a doctor’s note. I came in here to pick up some of that MetroMint water I got at the last Unilocal event. I can’t stop drinking this stuff!!!
I strolled around the store and checked out aisle upon aisles of organic, natural, environment-​friendly, preservative free foods. The only thing I added to my cart were Luna bars because they were on sale.
(By the way, if you’re the handsome military-​looking guy who I saw in the frozen food aisle, call me!)
I also picked up a few pre-​packaged lunch items from their deli section. I will come back to try that salad bar, it had some great items. My doctor would be proud.